1977 Mercedes-benz 450 Sel 6.9 Sedan. A True Piece Of Automotive History. on 2040-cars

For those of us movie buffs who enjoy Robert DeNiro movies, you’ll remember this Mercedes-Benz as the vehicle Jean Reno drove in the movie, “Ronin”, as Robert DeNiro fired the rocket powered grenade from the sunroof of the 450 SEL 6.9 L.   It was also a major plot device in the movie “Lost Highway”.

Offered for sale is a truly exceptional, extremely low mileage, well cared for 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 with only 74,000 miles and a corresponding patina.  This W116 6.9 is the very best of Mercedes’ very best. Sporting the fabled M100 6.9L V8 engine, a hydro-pneumatic self-leveling suspension and more technological advancements than any other car available at the time, owning this wolf in sheep’s clothing new was reserved for only the most discriminating and (at a sticker price of more than $50k), moneyed buyers. Unfortunately, the cars were also comparably expensive to maintain, causing a vast majority of them to fall into disrepair in their secondary or tertiary owners’ care. Finding exceptionally clean, well-maintained and low original mileage examples is virtually impossible, despite the fact that their popularity with collectors has realized a significant resurgence.  This car is a partial restoration that has taken place over the last 12 years or so from the previous owner before he passed away.  There is also extensive documentation from the year 2002 when the second owner acquired the vehicle.  The story behind the car is as remarkable as the car itself.  This vehicle has traveled more than some people I know.

This car is truly a piece of German-American automobile history. At a time when auto manufacturers worldwide were feeling the wrath of OPEC and moving towards small, four-cylinder, front wheel drive automobiles, Mercedes-Benz went in the complete opposite direction with the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 liter.  Even though the American counterpart had 35 less horsepower than the European 450 SEL, it still maintained status as the highest horsepower automobile in the United States at the time at 250 HP and 360 foot-pounds of torque.

In 1977, Mercedes-Benz introduced the 450 SEL 6.9 L to the American market. It was one of 462 vehicles brought to the States that year.  In terms of rarity, it is the rarest of all 1970s Mercedes-Benz sedans.  It is widely considered by German car enthusiasts to be one of the original Bankers' hot rods (see 6.3) as the 6.9 L motor, which was taken from the 600 Mercedes-Benz limousine, was crammed into the W116 chassis.  This was an automobile that was reserved for actors, politicians and royalty.  At approximately $50,000, the price tag alone ensured that the ‘6.9’ was for a select few.  Also, 1977 was the first year of the 250 HP Bosch K Tronic fuel injection.  250 HP coupled with 360 foot-pounds of torque and the quintessential German need to over-engineer, this flagship Mercedes-Benz sedan was the AMG Hammer of its time.

The body is in very good condition, free of any serious rust and 95% of the chrome is in solid condition, as well.  The alloy wheels are in free of any serious curb rash and wrapped in tires with plenty of remaining tread. The car’s interior is equally as clean with the charcoal gray leather seats showing virtually no wear whatsoever with excellent carpets and headliner.  Mostly all the major components are in excellent repair, including all of the power windows and sunroof. The trunk is clean and the car’s undercarriage is in excellent condition.  The motor idles consistently and pull strongly and smoothly through each of the gears. Compression is excellent, allowing this German muscle car to accelerate with robust, stable force. As with all Mercedes models of this generation, tank-like build quality and a devotion to over-engineering – especially coupled with the hydro-pneumatic suspension – creates a ride quality that was second to none at the time and is still astonishing today. The brakes have recently been gone through entirely and the car is road-ready.

The vehicle has 74,000 miles on the odometer. One look and you can see that the vehicle was cared for and garage kept for the majority of its life.

Upon receipt of the title, I decided to track down the second owner of the vehicle. I simply Googled her and found her living in Texas, not far from where the car was purchased.  She was extremely pleasant and then informed me that she had considerable paperwork on the vehicle. She and her husband many years ago, approximately 12 years ago, purchased the vehicle online from eBay Motors. 

Her husband then proceeded to ship the vehicle from the United States to Colombia, South America. It was there that he had an extensive mechanical restoration done to the vehicle, as well as the interior and certain chrome pieces. In speaking to her, she indicated that the vehicle was always garage kept, both here and in Colombia.  Please bear in mind, it must cost considerable money to ship a vehicle from this continent to South America. These were folks of considerable means and the receipts show a detailed history of the repairs that were made over time on this vehicle.  They, literally, spared no expense in getting the vehicle up and running to their standard.  The receipts total over $10,000, easily. 

Unfortunately, he passed and the car sat in storage for years. You can see that the car was In a warm, dry climate as the rust and rot were kept to a minimum. The undercarriage is solid and free of any serious rust, except for one area about the size of a dollar coin.  Please bear in mind that prior to the 1980s Mercedes-Benz and not rustproof their undercarriages, so finding a vehicle that is this solid underneath is, indeed, rare.

The car was also repainted approximately 12 years ago, as well, on the driver side. There is also some kind of bodywork done to the driver side door. The door opens and closes well, but not perfectly. The driver’s door panel has a very poor attempt at a repair or some kind and a bad adhesive was used to keep the window trim on the interior part of the door.  There is a good-sized ding in one of the doors also.  The chrome all around is in excellent shape, save for the front bumper which also has a golf ball size ding and a scratch on the top chrome piece. The good news is these bumpers are common and not specific to the 6.9 L.

Outside of that, the body is generally in good, solid, restorable condition or for use as a daily driver.  There is another bit of that bad adhesive on the outside rear chrome window trim at the top part of the rear window. It looks as if someone tried to fill a gap there, but there is no serious rust or rot to speak of there, which is important.

The engine compartment is clean and in good repair, as is the liner for the hood which normally is in poor repair falling to pieces. Here’s another indicator that the vehicle was garage kept and well cared for.  The motor turns over easily and pulls to the red line without issue or extraneous noise. It is in need of a tune-up as I cannot attest to the age of the plugs, wires, distributor cap, fuel injectors, Etc.  Close inspection of the motor will reveal that the hoses and belts are all in good shape. I recently had the belts changed and repaired a small exhaust leak changing the exhaust manifold gasket.  I also had the AC compressor swapped over from R 12 to R134 refrigerant.  However, it has not been connected nor tested. The heat works as do the dashboard controls for the heating/AC. However, one of the control switches for the up-and-down levers is broken. I do have that along with the parking brake button for the parking brake release that is broken, as well.  The brake, itself, is fully functional.

Here are the separate components on the vehicle as I see them:

Body –  For a 37 year-old vehicle, you can instantly tell that it was a car that was kept in a warm, dry climate. The fenders and quarter panels are all excellent condition. The car drives straight and is free of any extraneous noises.  The driver's door and door panel have signs of work that were done  There is minor rust on the rocker panel on the driver side, B pillar intersection.  I have attached a picture with the others that details this minor imperfection.  Also, where the roof meets the chrome trim that surrounds the rear window, there seems to be a discoloration of the paint which could  simply bad adhesive.  The body, generally speaking, is in good shape, however, one can see where work was done to the driver's door and the trunk.

Chrome – The chrome trim seems to be intact except for a minor ding and scratch in the front bumper chrome. I have attached a picture of any relevant issues, as well.

Paint -  The car was re-sprayed approximately 12 years ago as there was minor paint and body damage and the owner wanted to address the paint before it became an issue.  We ran a metal magnet along the areas that were repainted. No signs of Bond-o were evident.  It is obvious that the paint was applied many years ago as all of the chrome trim above the wheel wells is identical and in near mint condition. 

Interior –  Once you see the vehicle, you will understand.  The headliner is in excellent condition.  All seating surfaces are in excellent condition.  The carpet and individual mats are in excellent condition.   The wood panel where the window switches sit has minor imperfections as does the heating control panel.  The sunroof is fully functional.   The door to the glove compartment is slightly off, but in good condition.  The dashboard wood also has some minor cracks and fading,  but the dashboard itself is intact.  The knob for the parking brake lever is broken, but I do have it.  Also, one of the levers for the heating/air conditioning controls is broken. I have that as well.  Outside of that, you will truly be impressed.

Drivetrain –  By taking a very careful look at this vehicle, you will see that the car starts well and the motor does not blow smoke. This 6.9 L 450 SEL is eager and runs well on the highway.  Compression is excellent and there are no leaks of any kind.  The transmission also shifts hard and seems to be in good repair. It seems that the first shift is rather hard, but in the extensive reading that I’ve done about the 450 SEL 6.9 L, the hard shifting transmission is commonplace.  The hydropneumatic suspension is in good repair, but the front suspension does rattle a bit on rough road.  I  believe the front actuators might need to be replaced. This is a commonplace repair for these vehicles. 

Miscellaneous – Again, this is a 37-year-old vehicle, but it is as fine an example of a 37-year-old 450 SEL 6.9 L in The United States today.  The rims are all original and it appears the spare tire has never been used.  Most of the rubber and the gaskets on the vehicle are in solid condition, as well.  We recently changed the exhaust manifold gasket and did some manifold repair.  I also had the old original compressor repaired and changed over from R12 to R134 refrigerant. Both repairs set me back $1,600.00.  I also had all of the belts changed, as well. 

Professionals in the automotive industry describe this vehicle far better than I ever could. Here are several of the articles I pulled from the Internet.  You could also Google Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 L and read further about the historical impact of this vehicle. People around the world are restoring this vehicle as the 6.9 L is just beginning to reach legendary status here in The United States.  A fully equipped 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 L sedan just sold on eBay for $35,000. This was a truly fine automobile and worth every penny as the winning bidder bid $10,000 more than the previous bidder in order to secure the vehicle for himself. That should give you some indication as to the quality of the vehicle.  That auction took place on eBay.  Another 6.9 just listed for $38,500.

Here are more examples of pricing for the 6.9 L currently across the globe:

NADA estimated value for the SEL 6.9 L as of March, 2014:  http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1977/Mercedes-Benz/450SEL/4-Door-Sedan-6-9/Values 

For sale in the UK with 100,000+ miles - http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/v8-week-1979-mercedes-benz-450sel-6-9/

Here is the for the 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 L that sold on eBay for $35,000 last month:  http://www.autotraderclassics.com/classic-car/1979-Mercedes_Benz-450SEL-1373969.xhtml?conversationId=35249

Read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_450SEL_6.9

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/car-culture/go-car-culture-its-my-daily-driver-1977-mercedes-benz-450-sel-69#ixzz2uRS79x9M

Brock Yates article:

http://www.m-100.cc/6point9/brochure/brockyates/index.html

An excellent retrospective article:

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1977-mercedes-450-sel-6-9-deutscher-heavy-metal/

My favorite articles regarding this automobile:

http://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/mercedes-benz-450-sel-69?feat=oldlink

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5701127-JD%EF%BF%BDs-archives-1977-Mercedes-Benz-450SEL-6.9 

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire what is undoubtedly one of the finest, lowest mileage, most cared for examples of the legendary 6.9 available on the market. As rare and iconic Mercedes models continue to appreciate at dizzying rates, this is assuredly one of the models to have, one of the last true Mercedes classics in hard-to-find, restorable  95% rust free condition.  

Please offer a bid that is commensurate with the value of the vehicle.

I cannot speak to the history of the vehicle prior to 2001.   I do know it is not an original condition automobile.  Hence, the price. And with that said, I base my comments here on the previous owner's comments and available receipts.

Please come and see the vehicle.  Sight unseen buyers assume full responsibility.

The vehicle, of course, is sold AS-IS with no warranty, whatsoever.  I reserve the right to end this auction if the vehicle is sold locally.

I am a reasonable person and am looking to make a deal that will satisfy both parties.  We have our first child on the way I need to make plans accordingly.  Yes, the toys do go first .

If you are looking to restore a vehicle and fine tuning minutia is your specialty, this might be the restoration candidate for you.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Happy bidding and good luck.